


The Road To Nowhere Leads to Him

by asgardianhobbit98



Series: The Road To Nowhere Leads To Him [2]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Dean / OC Relationship - Freeform, Dean/OC - Freeform, F/M, I promise, Protective Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester - Freeform, Story, Supernatural - Freeform, The cliché of a girl from the real world beaming over to the spn world, Vikings, but with a twist, supernatural story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-16
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:54:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 19,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23683450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asgardianhobbit98/pseuds/asgardianhobbit98
Summary: ~ Dean Winchester X F!OC ~Nana felt like a nobody, with no future or purpose of being alive. However, when she stumbles across Jared and Jensen from her favourite show, her life does a 360. Soon, she realizes that Jensen and Jared are not actors, and that her world is not the only world in existence. Although she feels as nothing more but a fan eager to find a way to live through her favourite show, Nana realizes that the DVDs she managed to pack with her might end up not being just plain DVDs in another universe...And perhaps her life was not as useless as she thought. Perhaps she had simply been on a road seemingly leading to nowhere when in reality it was carrying her straight to... him; Dean Winchester.
Relationships: Dean / OC Relationship, Dean Winchester & Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester/Original Female Character(s)
Series: The Road To Nowhere Leads To Him [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1705423
Comments: 7
Kudos: 18





	1. Chapter 1

_"I was looking back on my life, and all the things I've done for me. I'm still looking for the answers, and I'm still searching for the key."_

Nodding along to the music, Nana Osbourne sat in her car, tapping her fingers along to the slow rhythm of the song playing from her car's stereo. The hood of her black car was reflecting the red lights that she was patiently waiting at. As her favourite part played, she nodded along, swaying her head a bit and laughing.

Though the laughter quickly went away, her lips forming a strained smile instead. Thoughts of this being a different road she was driving on, a road that would take her to some other place than this awful world, filled her head, her mind refusing to ever let her actually have fun for too long.

Giving up on the smile, she turned the music off to tune out of her own thoughts.

_"The wreckage of my past keeps haunting me, it just won't leave me alone. I still find it all a mystery, could it be a dream? The road to nowhere leads to me."_

With a roll of her eyes, she found the lyrics not really helping her mood, and she focused on trying to switch stations instead. Static was all she heard for a while, muffled voices managing to break through from time to time. What they said, she didn't fully hear. But she could have sworn that at one point there was a conversation being had about demons...

But then again, she had been watching a lot of Supernatural lately. She most likely was simply imagining it.

A car behind her honking furiously made her jump and press down on the gas. It was... perhaps not the best of reactions Nana could have had, seeing as she had not even checked if the lights were red, but the sudden noise had scared her and... she wasn't too good with fear.

Luckily, the lights had turned green. The driver behind her had not been the most patient of people.

Calming her breathing down, Nana shook her head at herself. She was already having a bad day. This asshole hadn't helped.

Though she did not have to linger on her herself for too long as suddenly, the static from the stereo changed back to the song she had not wanted to hear. Blinking in surprise, she glanced between it and the road, realizing that the stations had been switched back to the one she had tried to get away from.

_"Through all the happiness and sorrow, I guess I'd do it all again. Live for today and not tomorrow, it's still the road that never ends."_

_"_ Okay..." said Nana to herself. "Don't get freaked out. It's an old car. Definitely not demons. No... Why would it be?" Her joking about the creepy situation made her chuckle again, now simply focusing completely on the road instead.

_"The wreckage of my past keepts haunting me, it just won't leave me alone. I still find it all a mystery, could it be a dre-"_

Static was hard once more, interrupting the words and breaking up the song. It tried its best though to continue, and much to Nana's surprise it almost seemed as though... As though the song was slowing down to get the words out.

But that was odd. Why would it do that? She was very much aware of the fact that her medication made her a little whoozy from the time to time, so she blamed this on those little white pills instead.

_"The... road... to nowhere.... Leads to him..."_

_"_ What?" she whispered.

With a 'thwmph', the stereo lost all signal completely. Sighing in annoyance, Nana foolishly tapped the screen of the stereo to see if it would work... She had seen it in TV shows, and sometimes it worked there after all. TV shows... the one thing that she could still enjoy, still see, through the window her depression was giving. A window it would sometimes fog up if it wanted to take over. A window she couldn't break.

Of course, the tapping did nothing but distract her away from the road, and when she looked back up she swerved to avoid hitting a rather pristine looking Impala _._

"Dude! I just nearly hit the Winchesters! Fuck me, man..." She glanced back over her shoulder, her rear-view mirror not... functioning... or rather not being present at the moment, in order to get a second glance at the car. As she turned back to focus on the road, she chuckled. "Who are you talking to Nana? Stop it..."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dean swears a lot in my head, so you're welcome for this depiction of his way with words

She had been driving around aimlessly for about an hour before deciding to actually go to the shop. She needed food, and that had been her reason to get out of the house to begin with. Finding a parking spot was never difficult at that shop. It was rundown and not a lot of people came there. So there was plenty of space to choose from.

Yet, Nana saw a beautiful car she adored and just had to park next to it. Her parking abilities were not the best, just like her driving abilities were. Hence why it had not been the best of ideas to begin with anyway. When the front of her car scraped against the side of the pretty Impala she earlier had almost turned into a wreck out on the road, she let out a gasp but did nothing more.

Stepping out, she saw nothing more but two scratches on the pretty car, and decided she could get away with it so long as they didn’t see her in that very moment, or saw her getting back into her car. There wasn’t a license plate on her car anyway, so it didn’t matter.

Testing her luck, she quickly jogged to the other side of the car to take a quick picture, looking around before doing so in case someone was watching. It was beautiful, and just like the one in the show. She simply needed to share it with other fans.

Quickly heading inside of the shop, focusing on writing the perfect tweet with said picture, Nana made her way automatically to the aisle holding junk food and pot noodles. Done with the tweet, she focused on the food she was standing in front of, excitement filling her at the new flavours. Even if all of this was bad for her, it was better than eating nothing.

She filled a basket with said noodles and a hole bunch of sodas, moving on to the chips to search for a new flavour she could try.

“You think it’s some sort of trickster?” Nana blinked hearing this conversation, pausing her search for chips to glance over her shoulder. Whoever had said a sentence she had thought she would only ever hear at a convention, was behind the shelf holding soda. And she shifted over to hear better.

“Hell do I know. But I don’t have a better answer to this shit.”

“It could be an angel too.”

“There are plenty of angels out there with a grudge. But why simply shift us? Why not just… I don’t know, slam us into dust?”

They began moving, and so Nana followed along on her side of the aisle. There was something about the voices… Yes, of course the conversation was the strangest thing she had ever heard in her life, but for some reason it was the voices that she was focusing on… They sounded almost… familiar.

“Maybe they tried but didn’t have the energy? Cas said a lot of angels are weak due to the lack of number.”

“What are they, flying babies in diapers that feed off each other’s boobs?”

“Dean…”

Before the conversation could continue, the shelves had run out and Nana came face to face with them. She gasped loudly and dropped her basket filled with junk food, staring up at the… extremely tall men she had been listening in on.

Or rather, staring up at Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles.


	3. Chapter 3

“Oh my God…” she whispered, tears filling her eyes.

“Eh… miss? You okay?” asked Jared, staring at her with a raised eyebrow and a look of pure fear. Jensen, on the other hand, didn’t look very impressed. He stared at her, eyeing her up and down, with a look of what she could only describe as disgust. He wasn’t impressed with her reaction.

And Nana had to admit that hurt a little. Jensen was her favourite. She was a Dean-girl. But she could cry about that later. Right now, she was just… starstruck.

“You are… Oh my God…” she gasped. “C-Can I take a picture?”

Her hand halfway down to her pocket holding her phone, Nana let a few tears fall in pure shock and happiness. She hadn’t felt this giddy since the day she had seen them on stage at a convention. Supernatural, these two men, were the only thing in her life right now that always unfogged the window of depression she was trapped behind. Always. And here they were, standing in a rundown store, seeing her buy crappy food, seeing her cry…

“What? No!” exclaimed Jensen.

Stiffening, Nana stopped reaching for her phone, her eyes slowly moving up to Jensen’s angered face.

“Why would you want that?”

“O-Oh…” Nana wiped at her tears. “I’m sorry…” Crouching down, she scrambled to get some of her food back in the basket.

Much to her surprise, Jared crouched down and helped her a bit, offering her a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry, my brother is a little… blunt.”

“I just…” She sniffled, swallowing thickly. “I really admire your work.”

“Our work?” asked Jensen. “You know what we do?”

Nodding her head, avoiding looking at Jensen, Nana remained silent.

“But why a picture?” asked Jared.

“I just wanted to remember having met you,” sniffled Nana.

“What?” This time, Jared and Jensen had asked this in unison.

Although she was still extremely hurt, and although she was still feeling some tears fall, she managed to also feel confused, tilting her head to the side as she observed Jared. Slowly, the two of them stood back up, both holding the basket in their hands.

“I… I watch a lot of Supernatural.”

“Supernatural? Oh no, not this again… These books, will be the death of me,” sighed Jensen. Nana glanced at him swiftly before bowing her head, lip trembling at the pure annoyance she had heard in his voice.

“I’m sorry!” exclaimed Nana. Jared let go of the basket and Jensen blinked, seeming to only now having seen her tears. “I just really enjoy your show and I thought that you guys never minded fans coming up so I –“

“Fans?” asked Jared. “Wait, who do you think we are?”

Confused, Nana watched Jared intensely look down at her. “I… Jared and Jensen…” she murmured.

“No, that’s…” Jared cut himself off with a sigh, running his fingers through his hair. Quietly, Nana watched them, now daring to look at Jensen again too because of her confusion. “We’re not Jared and Jess.”

“Jensen.”

“What?”

“The douche’s name is Jensen in apparently any universe we go to.”

Jared ignored Jensen and simply looked back at Nana’s big eyes. “We’re not Jared and Jensen.”

“Look, it won’t matter. Let’s just go and figure this out.”

“Dean, she’s a fan. Of… you know, us. I left my laptop at the bunker. And chances are, there is no bunker.” Jensen licked his lips and looked away in annoyance. “You got any other idea?”

“I can help.” Nana’s words came out small and quiet. In all honesty, she didn’t even care if this wasn’t real, or if this was some form of trick being played on her by her medication or some form of hidden camera event – she just didn’t care what this was. All that mattered to her was the fact that she was even in the presence of these two actors.

And if she could get more time with them, she would take it no matter how they treated her or what this actually was.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so happy people seem to enjoy this so far! Thank you everyone :3

Nana carried two shopping bags filled with the junk food she had come for, one in each of her petit hands. Her black painted nails dug into the palms of her hands as she held them, walking a pace behind Jensen and Jared whilst watching them with wide eyes. A feeling of apprehension wracked through her body in waves, making her sweat profusely.

Perhaps she should have invested in some extra deodorant too.

It was a little embarrassing they had found her buying so much junk food. Whilst they themselves, or rather Jensen, had bought quite a lot of beer, saying he needed it to get through “this crap”, it was nothing compared to her having stuffed bags of chips into one overflowing shopping bag. The other one was filled with sodas and various sorts of noodles.

But they hadn’t commented on it.

Not openly at least.

She followed them to the Impala, and her eyes widened even more if that was even possible. Soon her green eyes were going to pop out if she wasn’t careful. And soon she would have actual stains of sweat under her armpits.

Because Jensen, fully in the role of Dean, dramatically paused at the sight of her car parked so close to his “baby”, holding out his free hand as he stared with an open mouth. “My baby…” His eyes were right on the scratch Nana had made, and she froze on the spot.

Jared cringed and glanced at Jensen.

“Some asshat scratched my baby!” exclaimed Jensen, turning on the spot to try and find the culprit. There was fire in his eyes, and unless Nana was wrong, she had seen his hand inch towards his belt where… she could only imagine Jensen, in the role of Dean, had a gun hidden.

While Jensen continued to freak out, Jared turned and awkwardly cleared his throat. “Uh… You… You drove here?” asked Jared, trying to take away the attention from his co-actor freaking out.

“I – what? No!” The lie came out too quick, and Jared looked a little confused at her exclamation. “I mean… No. I walked.” Her eyes glanced at Jensen leaning down to grab his knees, breathing erratically over the sight of the scratch.

And any apprehension Nana had held within her disappeared as she saw someone in need. Walking past Jared, who watched her still with a confused look, Nana stopped in front of Jensen, blocking his view of the scratch she had caused. She placed her bags down on the ground carefully before gently touching his shoulders. “Breathe…”

Looking up at Nana from his position bent over, Jensen nodded his head. For a second he looked like a little boy who had lost his dad, and Nana’s heart clenched. “Just breathe… In and out…”

Jensen did as she said for a few seconds before seeming to find himself not manly enough. He stood back up, making Nana let go of him as he was too tall for her, before nodding his head. He sniffled once before running a hand down his face. “I’m gonna kill whoever did this.” It would have been a threat that had made Nana step back in shock, had Jensen’s voice not wavered with emotion.

“You do that, Dean,” said Jared in mock-support. “Can we go now?”

“Where to?” asked Jensen, trying his best to focus on something else but the scratch.

Nana glanced between the two. “I have a house. And a laptop.”

“We don’t want to be a bother-“ began Jared quickly, shaking his head.

“No, but I also said I was going to help. So, you can come over to my place,” she smiled. “Saves you money on motels. It’s just a thirty minute drive from here.”

“Alright, we’ll follow you,” said Jensen, moving over to his car.

Jared watched Nana for a second as she automatically grabbed her bags again and took a step towards her car. Though she managed to stop herself, she still caught sight of a smirk from Jared – he had figured her out. “Actually… Uh, I didn’t drive. I… I walked.”

Nana’s wide eyes pleaded with Jared, and he nodded his head in amusement. Jensen turned hearing her, but missed the exchange between Nana and Jared. “You can ride with us,” reassured Jared, placing a hand on her back as he led her over to the Impala.


	5. Chapter 5

"What's your name anyway?"

To sit in the back of the Impala, to feel her suspension, to hear the sounds she had heard so often on screen – it was amazing. She couldn't help but look around her consistently with a joyful smile, eyes consistently flickering towards the backs of the Winchester brother's heads. If it wouldn't have looked so strange, she would have taken a picture and kept it as her wallpaper the rest of her life.

It felt odd to say, but it was a godgiven sight to see...

"Nana."

"Nana?" repeated Dean, glancing back at her through the rear-view mirror as he sped down the road. The show didn't lie. He truly did drive too fast. " _Nana_?" Sam glanced at his brother uncomfortably. "What are you, a grandmother?"

She had to admit, despite her shy and easily triggered nature, she could bite back. And she did with a glare up towards the mirror he was using. "Hilarious," she snapped, earning a surprised look from Dean. "Yes, it's Nana. Nana Osbourne."

"What, like the singer? Ozzy Osbourne?"

"Yes." She had never really thought of that.

"Why the hell don't you go by that name?"

"What, Osbourne?"

"No. Ozzy." Dean glanced back at her again, and she could see that happy, dorky side of him shine through his green eyes. If she could see his face, she knew he would be smiling, having that look that made him seem as though he was wagging his tail excitedly.

Slowly, a smile spread over her lips. This man... was exactly like how he was on screen, and it was almost like a slap to the face when she remembered it wasn't Dean. It couldn't be Dean.

 _Jensen_ looked away from her, focusing on the road.

"I suppose I could..." she said quietly.

"I like your name," added Jared quickly, turning in his seat to glance at her and give her a comforting smile. "Nana. It's different."

"I was actually named after my grandmother." Nana ignored the chuckle that came from Jensen. "She died before I got to meet her."

"I'm sorry," said Jared, sincerity visible in his eyes.

"It's alright," she smiled with a nod. Shifting forwards in the backseat, she bit the inside of her cheek. "So... What should I call you guys?"

"Don't you watch the show?" asked Jared with a tilt of his head.

"Uh..." Nana felt her cheeks blush. Did she? Yes. Did she have it on repeat at home, having watched season after season after season over and over again? Yes... Was she going to admit that? No. "I watch it occasionally, yes."

"Then... Sam," he said, gesturing to himself before doing so to Jensen, "and Dean."

"But..."

"Yeah, yeah... It's impossible. But just humour us, okay?" added Jensen in a grumpy voice. "I hate different universes... Who came up with that crap?"

With a sigh, _Sam_ shifted back to face the road. "Probably God."

"Probably God," repeated Nana with a nod of her head.

Scoffing, Dean almost rolled his eyes. "Whatever..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be quite long! I'll post this tomorrow as I figured it might be perfect to celebrate the end of a week with a nice, long chapter of Dean being precious, hehe :3


	6. Chapter 6

"It's not much. But it's home." Nana stepped aside to let the Winchesters in. Her house was a crappy little place she had managed to get her hands on despite everything having worked against her. She had no real income, so taking a loan had been near impossible. She had no family who wanted to back up she could pay anything back to the banks, which made it even more difficult to get said loan. And on top of that?

Her car had broken down right when she was trying to find a house, meaning that was even _more_ money she had had to spend – or rather, lend from the bank.

But, somehow, for some reason, she had gotten it. Maybe they had pitied her once they looked into her further... Either way, she needed to get her car back once the Winchesters were gone. She couldn't lose that thing. She couldn't take more loans.

Even more to worry about.

"Better than a motel," praised Dean, which surprised Nana as he hadn't fully been too... compassionate compared to Sam. She shouldn't be surprised. If they were playing their characters, out of the two, it would be Dean who didn't trust someone easy.

"I... I've got a bedroom here. Two beds." Refraining from admitting one of those beds were hers, she opened the bedroom and let them inside. There wasn't really much of hers in there that revealed this was her bedroom anyway. She had no pictures of her non-existing family or friends. She had no money to buy art. She had a closet, yes, but they wouldn't use that anyway. And there were no bedside tables for her to place some perfumes or make-up. No, that was all in her bathroom. So they wouldn't even find out they were taking her bedroom. Which was a soothing thought to her.

Well, there was a large Supernatural poster which both brothers had given a second look before deciding to ignore it. Though apart from that, the room was quite barren.

"Um... laptop is there, feel free to use it. Make yourselves at home... Are you guys hungry?" she asked gently.

"Oh, we don't want to be too much of a bother-" began Sam as he placed his duffel bag on one of the beds.

"He means yes," interrupted Dean, mirroring Sam though on Nana's bed. "I'm starving."

"No worries. I'll make something," she said with a smile towards Dean.

Nana had left her white bags by the front door, and before grabbing them, she locked her door and double checked that it indeed was locked. It was nothing more than paranoia. This neighbourhood, although run down, was safe despite what people might think upon first seeing it. Nobody who lived there didn't have their own problems that made society screw them over. Whether it was mental health related, medical related, or family related – everyone struggled. But everyone also took care of each other. Nana wasn't friends with anyone there, but everyone knew her and she knew everyone too. And if they noticed she had not left her house for a while, they would check up on her.

At least that way, Nana always knew that she wouldn't have to rot for too long should something happen.

No, it was just paranoia that made her lock her door and double check it.

Grabbing the white bags from the store, she hurried into the kitchen, a small room serving as dining room and living room as well. A fancy TV was hooked up there, in front of which stood two comfortable couches. Behind one of the couches was a little table with two chairs, but she usually just ate on the sofa.

"Aight... Pasta or..." Opening her cupboard, she blew a raspberry at herself. "Pasta or pasta."

She allowed some time for herself to store away what she had bought before pulling out some noodles and a ready-made sauce. She unfortunately didn't have any vegetables to add, but she hoped they wouldn't notice this wasn't... a perfect meal.

Then again, if they were their characters, maybe they were happy with this. It was fancier than burgers from a drive-through at least.

The faint rumbling of their voices could be heard through the thin wall, and she wondered what they were talking about. If they were the Winchesters, they would be talking about the situation they had found themselves in, with Dean maybe throwing in some snarky comments about his brother's modelling face on the Supernatural poster. But they were most likely just talking about how to continue... well, continue whatever hidden camera show this was.

She took a second to think through this situation. Had she really just let two men into her home based only on the fact they looked identical to Jensen and Jared? Even if this was a hidden camera situation, she didn't like this kind of attention... and if it was... how would they even film her inside of her own home?

Unless they had broken in and installed cameras... but, she figured that was just her paranoia speaking once more.

Hopefully.

Footsteps alerted her to the fact they had left her bedroom, and she stared at the door intensely. She wondered if they would come in with cameras, laughing and ending the situation.

But when Dean entered, he was just holding a sixpack of beer he had bought earlier in the store, Sam following with her laptop under his arm.

"Essentials," commented Dean, holding up the beer gently as he spoke about them before placing them on the counter next to her.

Sam immediately went to sit down by the little table, not looking away from the laptop once he had opened it.

"Dude... Is that Bolognese?" Nana blinked in surprise at Dean as he leaned over the pan and sniffed. She quietly showed him the jar the sauce had been in and he smiled happily. "It is! Oh, this is amazing." He rubbed his hands together and smiled at Nana excitedly. "You got any cheese?"

"Some grated, yeah," said Nana, moving over to the fridge. She placed the beer in there as well while she was at it, glancing once more at Dean sticking his finger into the sauce to taste it.

Yes, she had seen Dean be quite the foodie. But for some reason she hadn't fully taken him to also enjoy the cooking aspect. Which... Dean was showing he was enjoying by butting in. She watched him add some salt to the sauce as she approached with the requested cheese. He immediately took it from her and threw almost half the pack into the sauce.

"What?" Nana blinked as she noticed she had been staring, cheeks blushing.

"Nothing," she smiled. "Is it tasty?"

"It's fucking delicious, is what it is." Dean opened some cupboards, not asking questions but just... going for it, being independent even though he didn't need to be. For some reason though, Nana didn't mind. Amused, she opened the right cupboard and took out some bowls for him. She had read his mind correctly as he immediately took them from her and began serving the food.

She grabbed the third bowl, not filled to the brink with noodles and sauce, and followed Dean to the little table. "Move." Upon Dean's words, Sam shifted his laptop to the side, not looking away from the screen.

"You have wifi?" asked Nana. Her gaze was torn away from Sam when Dean took the bowl she was carrying without a word, gesturing to the second one filled completely with food. Still not saying anything, he moved away with his smaller portion and sat down on the sofa, turning the TV on. She blinked in surprise again. He had just, without verbally admitting it, given Sam and herself more food than himself. It was a rather... caring gesture, something the show would never had run-time enough to show he did.

Sitting down opposite of Sam, she caught his guilty glance.

"I hacked onto yours..." he mumbled.

She chuckled. "It's okay, I use my neighbour's. I just have a receiver."

Sam joined in on the chuckling, a little relieved, before pulling his bowl to him. 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another quite long chapter. I'm still trying to work out what length the chapters should be and what I'm most comfortable with personally. If you have any feedback, don't hesitate to give some :3

“I can’t find anything,” sighed Sam, sitting back in the chair.

Three empty bowls were standing by the sink, and Nana had joined Dean in watching a soap opera both were scrutinizing loudly. It had taken herself a while before she had gathered up the courage to actually comment on anything, but when she had (sweating profusely) Dean had laughed and agreed, giving her the courage to butt in more.

Although Dean had been a bit… rude and scary to begin with - this side of Dean, the one safe in a home and calmly watching something on TV, was a side to Dean Nana had rarely seen even on TV, and one she felt immensely comfortable with. She didn’t really want this to end, even if this wasn’t the real Dean.

“Mainly ‘cause the lore you can find on here is all _film_ related,” complained Sam. “I keep coming to this Supernatural wiki.”

Dean and Nana turned around in their seats to show they were listening.

“What were you searching for?” asked Nana.

“Anything. Anything about a-a spell that can take us back…”

“Alright…” Nana hummed, taking a deep breath. “Maybe, before you do, you need to establish what actually happened?”

“Even if I do, the information you can find is bad. It’s not sufficient. It’s as though-“

“Magic doesn’t exist?” interjected Dean. “Yeah, Sam. We’re actors in this world.”

Sighing, Sam rubbed a hand over his face.

“Well, what _do_ you guys remember before this?” asked Nana.

“I don’t know. I don’t know when we were zapped over here,” complained Dean. “There are no gaps. Just… us waking up at the bunker. Us deciding we needed to go for a supply run…”

Dean trailed off, and Nana watched him with patient eyes, intrigued. Sam furrowed his brow and leaned forwards in his chair. “Wait a minute…”

“Why did we go to that store?” asked Dean.

“We got lost… Remember? We suddenly found ourselves somewhere we didn’t recognize.”

“I remember. And then we almost got hit by that asshole who clearly can’t drive,” added Dean.

Sam chuckled, nodding his head and shooting Nana a knowing look. He had recognized the car parked next to Dean’s as Nana’s, and most likely, deducing from the look he just shot her, he remembered it was the same car that nearly hit them. She offered a shy look back.

“So,” said Sam, changing the subject away from Nana’s driving abilities, “there is a gap.”

“You know…” Nana frowned. “My stereo acted up around that time.”

“What time?” asked Dean, glancing between Sam and her, not aware of the information Sam and Nana shared.

“It might be connected,” agreed Sam, ignoring his brother.

“What?” tried Dean again.

“But static can happen for a lot of reasons. Right? Ghosts. Angels. Demons,” hummed Nana, avoiding looking in Dean’s direction as he continued to ask what he was missing.

“Yes, but it shows _we_ switched, not your world. I mean you have memories, you have a life here,” said Sam.

“Or, I’ve just got memories implanted in me and this is all fake,” said Nana with a smirk. “I’d be fine with that. This world is boring.”

Sam let out a nervous chuckle, observing Nana for a little bit.

“How are you so calm about that?” asked Dean. Though before Nana could even begin to find a way out of the conversation, Dean’s head snapped around as he heard a gunshot from the TV. “Oh… _shit_!” He pointed at the screen. “She just shot her husband!”

Nana laughed at Dean’s clear interest in the soap opera. Embarrassed, Sam shook his head, closing the laptop. “Whose husband?” he interjected, clearly having decided to take a break from the mystery they had found themselves in.

“This chick, Jennifer. She’s a judge in this case…” began Dean as Sam headed over to him and Nana, joining them…

.

.

.

The Winchesters had decided to go to bed later that night after having spent a surprisingly long time watching that soap opera. Nana had enjoyed simply watching them interact most of the time. She couldn’t help but think that their bickering, their bantering, was just like what she had seen on screen. They were constantly ready to make fun of the other, neither agreeing with what the other said. Yet, somehow, they still showed signs of caring for each other. Dean would open Sam’s beer bottles without being asked to. Sam would offer Dean chips. Dean would give away the last of the candy to Sam – and Nana. Their acting was so well done…

That it was getting more and more difficult for her to believe they were Jared and Jensen. Though the thought freaked her out a bit. Because that meant that she was actually with the Winchesters in that very moment… and it meant, that if the Winchesters somehow were real, that perhaps demons and angels were too.

She had made a lot of stupid jokes about being okay with someone else being in control of her body so she could get some extra sleep. She really hoped no one had heard those... She didn’t particularly like the idea of getting possessed.

Once the Winchesters had gone to bed, hoping to get some sleep despite the ordeal they had found themselves in, Nana was left on her own in her kitchen. She was sat on the couch, biting her lip. She didn’t have a bed now. She had given up the two this house had come with to the Winchesters.

Which meant tomorrow would be a day filled with headaches and pained shoulders. Because this couch was not comfortable enough to be slept on, yet she would have to.

Grabbing a blanket from a cabinet, she threw it on the couch and scoffed – “Bed made.”

On her tip toes, so she wouldn’t wake someone up, Nana moved into the bathroom. For some reason, the fact that there was a faint smell of male deodorant present made her smile. Because although this situation was extremely freaky, it was also extremely exciting.

Those were most likely the _Winchesters_!

This was _their_ deodorant!

It was odd how exciting deodorant suddenly was.

She took half of the pills she should take, just so it would be safe enough for her to take some pain relief for the headache she would be sporting the following day, before quickly brushing her teeth and changing into a pyjamas she, luckily, kept in her bathroom, not her bedroom. Tiptoeing back to the kitchen, she let herself fall down on the couch and wrapped herself up in the blanket. With a sigh, she cursed the couch for already being uncomfortable, before closing her eyes to do her best in sleeping at least a little bit.

She kept the lights on and therefore Dean didn’t have an issue walking into the kitchen to grab a glass of water. Nana heard and tried her best to sink down into the couch so he wouldn’t notice.

But he was a hunter. He would notice if something moved in his peripheral view no matter how tired he was.

“Ozzy?”

Cringing, Nana sat up and peeked over the backrest of the couch at Dean. “Well… hi. Don’t mind me. I was just… watching TV?”

Dean looked quite unimpressed by her bad lie. After all, the TV was turned off.

“Are you sleeping in here?” He had shifted closer and caught sight of the blanket she was wrapped up in.

Sheepishly, Nana nodded her head.

It took Dean all but two seconds to connect the dots. After all, where would the door leading to her bedroom be? This was a tiny house, Dean would have noticed it. Sighing, Dean said; “We’re sleeping in your bedroom, aren’t we?”

Nana didn’t reply, but simply stared at him, wondering what his reaction was going to be.

“First of all, I knew my pillow smelled of perfume I recognized.” His words for some reason made Nana blush. He had noticed her perfume? And he had argued about this with Sam? “Second of all-- Why?” He looked genuinely confused, almost a little disturbed. After all, who would actually go to such lengths for two dudes they had met only that day?

“Alright then…” Nana shifted off the couch and opened a little drawer beneath the TV. From there, she took out the DVDs she cherished so highly. “Cause I’m a fan.”

Dean moved over. “Well, I knew that.” His eyes roamed over the DVDs.

“No, as in… a _fan_ -fan. I have these on repeat just to feel okay.”

Her words made Dean scowl. “These are about our lives. Our lives _suck._ Why’d you want them on repeat?” He cut himself off when he saw Nana shaking her head.

“No, Dean… I mean, yes.” Nana sighed. Her struggling to find the words made Dean sit down on the couch she had been trying to get some shut-eye on. There was an air of patience around him, and he simply watched her, taking a sip of his water. “Your lives are hell. And I have only seen the show. I cannot even imagine what things the show doesn’t reveal... your childhoods… whatever shit happens between important plot points…” Dean’s patience thinned as he gave her an unimpressed look. She wasn’t too surprised. After all, if Dean didn’t like his life being in books, he wouldn’t like someone playing him in a show to get rich off of. At least Edlund didn’t get rich. “But you also have something I don’t. That a lot of people don’t. You have hope. You have a road to go down. And… you have family.”

“Sammy?” asked Dean for clarification. Nana nodding her head made Dean bow his. “Yeah, well look… that ain’t all sunshine and rainbows.”

“I know. Not because of these,” said Nana, gesturing to the DVDs. “But because of what family is. It’s just a bunch of rocky shit, arguments and intimate relationships you find yourself unable to live without no matter how much they bug you.”

“Well worded,” praised Dean, slight amusement in his voice mixed in with a sad look in his eyes that almost made Nana… guilty.

“But you have it. You have family. Not everyone can even say they have a friend.”

There was a pause, and Nana felt guilt riddle her body as she glanced down at the DVDs. Dean’s silence made her worry she had said something wrong. That she had gone too far with her words. They were based on her own personal life, and quite honestly, she meant every single word. To hear anyone even think they didn’t have anything good, anything perfect, hurt her. Because they had something special with family, and to know they sometimes didn’t appreciate it because things got difficult, was upsetting.

But sometimes when Nana did such a thing, all she did was cause the other person more pain for pointing such a thing out.

“That why you got so many happy pills in your bathroom?” Dean sighed when Nana nodded her head at his question. But there wasn’t anything else to say. Instead, he glanced down at his water, twirling it around in the glass as they sat in silence for a while.

“This show… it helps. It’s a way to escape the reality. A way to… forget how terribly lonely I am. Even if it means I’m watching your struggles, which sounds extremely… psychotic.” She joined him on the couch. Dean and Nana shared a smile. “But that’s the truth. You help people, you save them. But you don’t just save people there in your world, hunting monsters and… evil shit. You’re also saving people in this world, creating a space for people to… forget.” She gestured to the DVDs: “Through those…”

She watched him observe the DVDs for a while, seeming to be contemplating her words. And when he looked back at her, there was a twinkle in Dean’s eyes that Nana absolutely adored. Dean Winchester was someone so… tormented, hurt, and guilty... Something told Nana that no matter how many times Dean saved the entire world’s population, he would always think that he had not saved enough.

But right then and there, hearing that he was helping in his own world, and in this one… she could tell it meant a lot to him.

And she adored seeing that in his eyes. It brought a warmth to her heart she had never felt before.

And she suddenly felt the need to see that more. To consistently make him feel that way.

To never stop making him feel… worthy.

Selfishly, she hoped they didn’t find a way back to their world so that she could keep making him feel this way… Even if he wasn’t the true Dean, she would take this. Any day.

Because at least this way, no matter what or who she had just invited into her home… at least this way she wouldn’t be so lonely.


	8. Chapter 8

“You should probably get some rest…” murmured Nana. Dean hadn’t stopped staring at her since he had been told what good he did in this world and his own, and she had begun to nervously sweat and blush.

Because he was a handsome man. Why else would she be calling herself a Dean-girl?

“In your bed?” he asked with an amused tone to his voice.

“Yeah, difficult to share,” she tried to joke. Though her own words caught her off guard, making her stare over at Dean in shock, her blushing intensifying. She knew he had noticed her embarrassed nature from the way his piercing green eyes flickered down to her cheeks, and from the way she could see a smirk tugging at his lips no matter how much he fought against it.

And from the way he looked a little cocky.

“Difficult, but not impossible if you wanna try...”

“Goodness!” exclaimed Nana loudly, standing up. “I uh… forgot to water my plants.”

Dean watched her slightly surprised, glancing around at the… very plant-free house she had before licking his lips, biting his bottom lip as he tried his best to suppress a laugh.

“Right.” He stood, glass of water still in his hand. Nana dared to glance at him, looking up at him shyly through her lashes. “Goodnight Ozzy.”

“Goodnight Dean.”

Dean made it all of two steps before a loud knock was heard on the door. Nana gasped, anxiety grasping onto her immediately. It was well past midnight, pitch dark outside… and she had no friends. Who would knock on her door?

Shaky arms hugged herself as Nana stood frozen on the spot. Dean quickly put the glass down and pulled out a gun from his jeans.

“Don’t move.” Nana nodded her head but still subconsciously followed him as he hurried out into the hallway. Sam came out of the room, wearing a shirt and some sweatpants, hair a little ruffled. Clearly, out of the two brothers, Dean had been the one to decide to change for bed last.

Had he not been able to sleep? Amidst her utter fear of who the hell was on the other side of that door, she felt a wave of guilt run through her at her lack of questions on his wellbeing. And it only made her feel worse, heart beating so fast she was sure she’d have a panic attack.

Of course this was the night she hadn’t taken all of her pills…

Dean noticed Nana had followed him and scowled. “Stay back,” hissed Dean, holding his gun pointed at the front door. Though he noted Nana’s pale face and her nodding her head whilst still following Dean, and quickly gestured for Sam to take her. She wasn’t going to be able to listen in this condition.

The younger brother moved over, placing an arm around Nana’s body to hold her in place as he pointed the gun at the front door too. Shaking, Nana pressed herself against Sam, too occupied to fearfully stare at the door to notice his hard body.

Well, maybe not _too_ occupied not to notice… It was hard not to…

Dean placed the gun against the front door, ready to shoot through the door if need be, fingers touching the locks. He glanced back at Sam who nodded his head, before Dean unlocked the door and opened it slowly.

It took two seconds for Dean’s previously tense form to relax. He turned and rolled his eyes, opening the door fully. Nana protested quietly by tensing up and shifting slightly, but Sam kept his arm around her, forcing her to stay in place.

“Hello boys.” The accent was pretty. That was all Nana noted, immediately recognizing who it was without even having to look. She quickly grabbed a handful of Sam’s shirt and yanked at it the second Sam relaxed too.

“There are no demons in this world,” she whispered shakily.

How could they just decide to let someone in who looked just like Crowley?

How ironic… seeing as Nana had just done that same thing with Sam and Dean, had she not? Then again, at least Sam and Dean would have been mere humans able to kill her if she turned out to be some monster, not a _demon_ – and God knows what a demon became in her world _._

Sam pulled up his gun again, glaring at Crowley who stood in the doorway with a surprised look on his face. “Dean! There’s no demons in this world!”

Truth be told, Dean had pulled his gun back up the second Sam had without even needing an explanation. That, again, was something the series didn’t show – the bond that these two brothers held; the pure trust.

“Now, now, boys. It is me. The handsome demon here to save your hides,” said Crowley, calmer than Nana had thought a human would be under gun point.

“Well, only one way to find out,” said Dean, pulling out a flask.

“Now, hold up a minute!” Crowley had tried to turn around and leave, but Dean was quicker in this instant. Some of the contents of the flask was splashed over the man clad in a dark, long coat, and it sizzled.

It _sizzled._

Nana couldn’t believe her eyes. This did nothing to help soothe her panic, but it… was a shock. It was also a shock how little it actually affected her. It felt for a second as if she had simply lost the feeling of her body and was actually watching an episode set in her house, that she was actually sitting on the couch observing from the safety of the other side of the screen.

But she wasn’t.

She realized she had already begun to accept that these were the real Winchesters without even noticing so herself.

But the holy water burning a _demon_ had been the proof she had needed.

This was actually happening.

Nana paled even more.

An agonized yell left the man before he snarled and glared back at the boys, eyes completely red. “Did you have to do that!?” Just one blink of his eyes made the red smoke disappear, a seemingly normal human glaring at Dean once more.

“That’s a first I’m relieved it actually burns,” muttered Dean, putting his gun away. “This world is just… upside down.”

Sam did the same, Nana staring at the apparent… _demon_ shaking the pain off and straightening back up.

“Whilst you two eggheads have been playing Alice through the looking glass, Castiel and myself teamed up to try and get you back.”

Dean gestured for the demon to enter, closing the door behind Crowley. Nana had to admit that it bothered her tremendously that he didn’t lock the door, but she was still in too much shock and fear to bother walking up and doing it herself. It would have to be for now.

“Nana?” said Sam quietly down to her, his fingers gently touching her hand still holding a tight grasp on his shirt. “It’s okay. We’ve got this.” She stared up at him, still shaking. “You can let go now.”

“Don’t let go…” she whispered, shaking her head. “Please…”

Sam nodded his head, a little confused, perhaps, but kind enough to let it be. So, placing his arm back around her, he let her cling to him for as long as she needed, ignoring the curious looks Crowley was sending their way.

“Cas?” asked Dean.

Crowley nodded, casually placing his hands in the pockets of his coat. “When you two left our world, there was a… residue left behind. My demons caught wind of it so I went to investigate.”

“Really? You went there yourself?” asked Dean, raising both his eyebrows. “Since when do you go out into the field instead of sit on the throne and moan about your life being difficult?”

“This was very interesting. I don’t just let anyone deal with those cases,” snapped Crowley back. “Anyway. Cas found me there, and we worked out a way to get me across.”

“Why you?” asked Sam, scowling at the demon.

“Really, moose? You’ve been here, what, 12 hours and you’ve already got a girl?”

Sam shifted on his feet, an annoyed little ‘tut’ leaving his lips at Crowley’s little snap.

“I was the only one who could. Cas was…” Crowley smirked a little. “Too big.”

“Too big?” asked Dean, a little amused as well.

“Too holy, so to speak. It was complicated, but let’s just say, the void is no place for something angelic. Takes up too much space and attracts things… nobody wants to attract.” Crowley looked a little proud that he could manage something an angle couldn’t, and Nana narrowed her eyes. She had always thought when on screen that there was something off with the way the demon acted around the Winchesters. As though he wanted to be a part of their little hunting group, but also was always looking for a way to use them to gain more power. She wondered if this was the same case. What was it that intrigued Crowley so much about her world that made him work with an _angel_ to get there? “And you have to cross a void to get to another world. You lot won’t notice of course when I get you back.”

“Get us back?” asked Dean. “You can do that, just like that?”

“I have say… thirty minutes before the spell wears off, but yes, I can.” Crowley once more looked proud over himself, though his smile disappeared in an instant. “So, chop chop! We haven’t got all day! Pack your things so we can get moving.”

Dean glanced back at Sam, a little annoyed to be saved and ordered around by a demon, most likely, from the way he offered a roll of his eyes.

And then his eyes landed on Nana, and she… might have been going crazy from the entire ordeal – the fear, the anxiety – but she could have sworn she had seen a bit of regret on his face.

Though for what, she wasn’t too sure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Crowley would only interfere if there is something interesting, hm? I'm really excited for you guys to find out what that something is hehe :3 I said there was a twist, so I hope it's actually a good one.. that would be a little embarrassing if it wasn't XD


	9. Chapter 9

Sam had moved her over to the couch in the kitchen, sitting down with her. “You okay?”

His words had come out a little unsure, as if he didn’t want to upset her more or wasn’t used to someone showing so many emotions in one go. She couldn’t blame him, really. He lived with Dean.

She nodded her head, slowly letting go of his shirt. Crowley wasn’t in the room. It was just her and Sam. She was safe.

“I just… I got a little paranoid when someone knocked on my door in the middle of the night.” She gave a dry chuckle. “Watched too many horror films I suppose.”

Sam offered a gentle nod of his head, understanding her. “It’s not a bad thing to be careful.”

Nana didn’t comment on that. Because the truth of the matter was that she wasn’t careful. She was extremely paranoid. Sometimes she’d wake up in the middle of the night remembering she hadn’t done the dishes only for her brain to spiral that into a ‘what if insects decide they like that’ to the point where she would have to get up to do the dishes.

See, worrying about that, about little things, too much, was all she had. Because her phone never went off with someone asking for advice, or someone checking in on her. Little things was all her mind had to think about.

And that thought hurt a little too much.

“Sorry,” she apologized, offering Sam a shy look. She intertwined her shaky fingers together, trying to stop her body’s trembling.

“We’ll be out of your hair soon. And things will be back to normal,” said Sam soothingly, placing a hand over her intertwined ones. He squeezed gently and when she looked up at him, he smiled a genuine smile.

There wasn’t a part of her that didn’t believe that Sam actually meant that. To Sam, being away from people he could potentially come to care about, or that could get hurt if he was present, was the only thing he knew. He had tried multiple times to have others in his life but Dean, and they all died or had to leave him in some other way.

She understood. But that didn’t mean that she didn’t want to help Sam see things differently… It was an extremely depressing way to live one’s life, after all. And she felt the need to help him, to see things didn’t always have to be like that. “No. That’s not-“

“You ready?” Dean poked his head inside, two duffel bags in his hand. He had packed for the both of them while Sam dealt with Nana, and she had to admit that it was a little embarrassing. “We better go before I shoot Crowley. He’s getting on my nerves.”

“I heard that.”

Nana smiled at Crowley’s exclamation. And she had to admit, she missed Sam’s hand when it left hers.

But it wasn’t because it was Sam in particular. She was simply going to miss being close to someone. Having someone potentially reach out and touch her… She didn’t have that. She hadn’t had that since she was a child, and even then, her parents barely ever touched her, as though she was some _thing_ in the way of their actual happiness.

She had been as well. That was why they left.

She stood together with Sam, who offered her another genuine smile. “Thank you for your help.”

“Oh, I didn’t do much,” she chuckled awkwardly. Her hand shifted slightly to reach out and touch Sam again, but he had already turned to leave. Dean nodded his head in respect at her, agreeing with his brother’s words.

And that was it.

The two brothers disappeared around the corner and she was left completely alone.

Tears filled her eyes and she felt her feet move to the corridor to watch them disappear. She opened the front door quietly and leaned against it, dressed in nothing but her pyjamas, the cold night air touching her and making her shiver.

The wind would once more be the only thing that _wanted_ to touch her.

The brothers entered the Impala, Crowley joining them in the back where Nana had sat earlier that day. Neither glanced her way.

The engine revved to life, and a few tears fell down Nana’s cheeks.

They had been real. They had been the _real_ Winchesters. And for a few hours, she hadn’t been alone.

Bowing her head, her mind swirled with pain.

She could die happy now. She had tasted what life should be like, and that had been enough. Knowing it would go away and she would never feel it again, wasn’t fun. But she would remember at least.

“Pack your things.”

Blinking tears away, Nana lifted her gaze and found Dean standing in front of her. Surprised, almost shocked, Nana stared at him.

“Go on then.”

There was a moment of silence as Nana took in his words.

And without hesitation, she grabbed the chance of never having to be alone again. She turned and rushed inside, leaving Dean standing by the door with a smile. She packed just one thing aside from some random jumpers and sweat pants she enjoyed wearing. Her DVDs. She wasn’t too sure of why, but she felt guilty leaving them behind. They meant the world to her, and she wanted them. Even though she knew she would have her own Supernatural show now, that didn’t mean she didn’t want to look back at the things that had gotten her through countless lonely days.

Backpack slung over her shoulder, and still wearing her pyjamas, she joined Dean by the front door with a wide smile, only dried up tears left on her cheeks which cracked and faded away when she smiled at Dean. “I’m ready.”

“Good.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was the chapter I was waiting to write. Such an important one as well. 
> 
> You see, I imagine Dean sat in the car, turning the engine on and glancing at Nana. He purses his lips seeing the tears reflected in the faint light from a nearby street lamp. After the things Nana had said to Dean, about helping, Dean suddenly finds himself not able to help Nana. And maybe, he realizes, she has her DVDs. But that is not him. Just some actor.  
>  And maybe Dean finds her a little cute too.   
>  So despite Sam asking Dean what he is doing, Dean steps out of the car and walks over to her and makes the choice to bring her with. He wouldn't have forced her if he saw her hesitate... on the contrary, if she hesitated in leaving her home, Dean would have turned straight back around and left her. But she didn't hesitate. Instead she stopped crying. 
> 
> And then Nana makes two important choices here too. Two choices that both will have dire consequences in the future. She made a choice of not packing something. And she made the choice of packing something else. And uh... well, I suppose you will just have to keep reading to find out what these things were, unless you figured it out, and what these consequences will be :3 
> 
> A big thank you to everyone who is reading. Now, shall we head into the SPN universe? I think we shall ^^


	10. Chapter 10

“I think a thank you is at hand?” Nana glanced at Crowley. She was sat awkwardly in the back, staring at the back of Sam’s head as she hugged her backpack tightly to her chest. The knowledge that this man with the pretty accent was a _real_ demon was scary. She had met Mark in real life at a Doctor Who convention, and he had been a sweetheart. But this wasn’t a sweetheart. This was a crossroads demon serving as the King of Hell, most likely.

“Yes, thanks Crowley,” snapped Sam.

They were riding in the Impala through the dark night. Street lamp provided the only light apart from the car’s headlights. This had been what Crowley had asked them to do, and Dean, although confused, had done just that.

“For…?” urged Crowley with a smug look, placing a finger behind his ear for dramatic effect.

Turning in his seat, Sam glared at the demon. “For getting us back.”

“We’re not back yet,” said Crowley, feigning hurt that Sam had failed. “I meant for the girl.”

Nana glanced at Crowley.

“See, now you finally have a girlfriend, Moose.”

“Shut up, Crowley,” said Sam and Dean in unison.

Nana hugged her backpack a little tighter to her chest, feeling the DVD boxes press up against her chest painfully.

“Just drive.” Nana turned her gaze to Crowley as she saw him shift, ignoring Dean beginning to rant at him that this was bullshit. Sam noticed Crowley too, still being turned to glare at the demon. Both watched as Crowley grabbed the back of the front seat, closed his eyes and concentrated hard. If Dean had seen it, he would have commented how it looked a bit like he was constipated. Or…well, that was what Nana was thinking, and she didn’t have the courage to say it out loud. But Dean would have had.

“What are you-“ had Sam begun before the car suddenly swerved. Light appeared, and Nana closed her eyes in pain at the sudden brightness. The car came to an abrupt stop, wheels screeching as Dean flung himself onto the brakes.

Slowly, the three humans in the car opened their eyes, letting their eyes adjust to the sudden sunlight they found themselves in.

“There. Back in one piece as if nothing happened,” said Crowley, opening the back door and stepping outside. Nana glanced around Sam and noted Dean had swerved and stopped to avoid hitting Castiel, who stood calmly in the middle of the road, staring at the car as though it was its fault for almost hitting the angel.

It was odd seeing Misha Collins dressed up fully as Castiel, and it was even more odd that…

Well. Everything was odd. It was suddenly daylight again. She was in the back of the Impala. Again. She was watching a demon walk up to an _angel_.

And this was all real, she determined by touching the leather of the seat she was sitting on. No dream or hallucination could be this real.

“Well… welcome to Oz,” joked Dean, glancing back at Nana.

“This is insane…” she commented simply.

“You okay?” asked Sam, casting a worried look over his shoulder. After all, she had been panicked not too long ago, and now she was going through this.

But, quite honestly, she was rather calm.

“Yeah… I think…”

She saw the Winchesters step out of the car, and joined, leaving her backpack in the car. She was dressed in her pyjamas still, but it calmed her that Sam was too, walking beside him to feel comfortable about it.

“Cas,” greeted Dean. “What the hell just happened?”

“I’m not too sure. I couldn’t sense you on the planet anymore. And then that appeared.” Castiel pointed to something behind them, and the three of them turned. Nana gasped a little.

In the middle of the road stood a tree. It seemed to have broken through the asphalt, ripped itself through it in order to grow. But such a thing would take years upon years…

Magic?

“What the hell is that?” asked Dean. It was taller than any tree Nana had seen before, and thicker.

Thick enough for a car to pass through it.

Thick enough for multiple cars to pass through it side by side, actually.

“Yggdrasil.” Castiel’s explanation made the three of them turn on the spot again, staring at him in disbelief. “I see a rift, a tear in the fabric of reality. A demon would see something else.” Crowley smirked a bit at being mentioned by the angel. “Humans see a tree. This is what the Vikings found as well and based their religion on.”

Pure disbelief followed Castiel’s words. There was a pause before Sam blinked and simply said; “What?”

“You think Vikings got so smart just by being greedy and wanting gold from other places? No. They travelled further than just to America,” said Crowley. He looked a little smug at being aware of more than the humans in front of him, and he clearly took pride in knowing that he was better than them. 

“Shut up,” chuckled Dean. Though his chuckles died down when neither demon nor angel seemed to budge in their ‘joke’. “Really? Vikings travelled to other universes? Yes. And I’m a girl.”

However, whilst the Winchesters had been completely confused by the statement that Vikings had gotten anywhere but America, Nana had been confused by even more. Unless she remembered her history lessons completely wrong, which she doubted as she only the past week had watched a show based on the Viking lore, there was more in what Crowley and Castiel were telling them that made little to no sense. Normally she would have remained quiet and just watched this unfold, but her confusion by… _everything_ that day pushed her to speak up, albeit quietly: “Vikings didn’t get to America.”

“What?” asked both Sam and Dean, turning their heads to her.

She blushed at the attention she was suddenly put under and cleared her throat. “Vikings never left Scandinavia.”

“That’s… not true,” noted Sam gently, perhaps believing that Nana wasn’t aware of the correct history.

Luckily though, Nana could back down again as someone else spoke up for her. “Not for this world.” Castiel’s eyes seemed to suddenly have noticed her when she had said something. They narrowed slightly, piercing through her in a way she hadn’t thought anyone could ever look at her. She had seen that very look on TV multiple times. But in reality, it wasn’t Castiel not understanding something. It was Castiel understanding too much, knowing more than he should let on, and seeing more than he could admit. Because right then and there, he wasn’t confused. He was trying to work her out, seeing something within her, touching her soul. “Who is this?”

“Nana Osbourne,” introduced Sam. “I think we don’t have to introduce Cas.”

“No. I know him.”

“You know me?” asked Castiel.

“Long story,” interrupted Dean. “What’s important is that huge ass tree. We can’t just leave it there.”

“Don’t worry,” said Cas. “The rift is fading.”

As if on cue with his words, a dead leaf fell down on Nana’s shoulder. The three turned once more and saw that compared to the spring buds of the surrounding trees, that tree’s leaves were slowly falling into autumn, a beautiful orange hue spreading over them like a sunset.

And even Nana knew that autumn was a signal for death, not renewal. “It’s dying…”

.

.

.

“Is it just me who is confused…”

The three of them were back in the Impala, Dean heading back to the bunker. Castiel had said he would stay and guard the tree, and when Crowley had no more purpose of being there. Seeing himself outmatched and unable to investigate the ‘rift’ further, he had just disappeared.

Though not without giving Nana a meaningful look… One she was focusing one right then and there in the backseat of the Impala when Dean had spoken up.

“It’s weird,” added Sam with a nod of his head.

“Why did it appear? We got no answers from Cas. As usual,” huffed Dean.

“And… why was Crowley there?” added Nana.

“That’s what worries me too,” agreed Dean, earning a look from Sam. “Dude didn’t gain anything from this.”

“And he always wants to gain something from everything. That’s why he interferes,” said Nana, her mind returning back to the look he had given her. It wasn’t a… ‘I will see you later’ look. It had been more of a double check that she was still there... “Did he have something to do with me joining?”

“No. I mean he commented on you crying… but, no…” hummed Dean, frowning slightly.

“You are okay with this, right?” asked Sam, turning in his seat. Dean remained quiet, biting down hard and looking away, almost annoyed. “I mean… we just _took_ you from your own world.”

“Sam, it’s a bit late to ask that now,” joked Nana with a smile.

“No, it isn’t. The tree is still there. I’m sure there’s a way to bring you back.” Sam’s serious look almost seemed to urge her to actually go. And she glanced away, down at her hands that had stopped shaking a long time ago. She knew that he just wanted to keep people away in order to save them from the death everyone around him seemed to get to. She knew that, but it still hurt that he seemed so adamant that she should go back home. “This isn’t safe. This life-“

“I know,” she interrupted, swallowing thickly at her bravery to do such a thing. “But Sam, I have just as little cause of existing in this world as in mine.”

Sam blinked, staring at her after her reply. She dared to meet his gaze, offering him a steeled, determined one.

And that was all. He turned back in his seat and let it be. Though, Nana had a feeling that this wasn’t the last time he would try and shove her away.

She reached out to her backpack again, and pressed it against her chest. The feeling of the DVDs soothed her.

The remaining ride was spent in silence between the three of them, Dean listening to his music which filled the silence. Though the silence wasn’t very pleasant for Nana… It gave her time to think things over, and maybe also _over_ think things.

She was no fighter. She was just… a woman. She would be in the way to them, unable to really help. Which meant she shouldn’t really stay. Besides, why should she? She was not friends with any of them, she was just… there. They met a couple of hours ago, and now she was joining them on their way home. It felt wrong. She felt wrong. And…

She was once more in the way, wasn’t she? She was once more just there, a third person not wanted. And that thought, even though she had wanted this badly, to be near people once more, made her cry. It was a silent cry, and whenever she did sniffle slightly, Dean’s music drowned it out.

Even with her favourite characters… she was unwanted.

Dean suddenly shifted and began searching for a particular song. It made Nana wipe her cheeks and fight her tears – just in case either of them glanced back at her.

Though when Dean landed on the song he had been searching for, Nana froze in her seat.

 _Road to Nowhere_ began to play loudly, and Dean turned up the volume a bit more. Sam only glanced at his brother and scoffed slightly before continuing to watch the side of the road rush past. However, Dean, glanced back at Nana through the rear-view mirror.

He had seen her cry. There was no doubt about it from the way the crinkles around his eyes turned upwards as he smiled at her. And she smiled back before she could even do anything about it.

Ozzy Osbourne was the singer, and Ozzy was the nickname given to her by Dean just hours ago.

And, unknowingly to Dean, that was also the song she had been listening to when she had almost hit them – when she had basically met them for the first time.

It made her feel better, and she leaned back in her seat with a little smile still playing on her lips, hugging her backpack tightly.

Maybe she wasn’t completely unwanted.

.

.

.


	11. Chapter 11

“Some freaky batcave shit.”

Her words made Dean laugh. He was driving the Impala out onto an unnamed road, clearly not used often as it was almost completely covered in weeds. The road led straight into a large opening in a stony hill; a dark tunnel. As the car drove down into the darkness, lights lit up at the movement, helping light the way towards a huge garage.

The bunker.

She recognized it from some episodes. But it had only ever been shown briefly. And it was much bigger than what she had seen. Dean parked the car next to some old, 50s cars Nana kept her gaze on, lips slightly parted in amazement – they were in pristine condition.

The Impala’s engine turned off, and immediately both Winchesters stepped outside in sync. Dean opened the car door for her as she had been shifting towards it in the backseat, and she offered him a shy smile at the action.

Holding her backpack still against her chest, she followed the brothers towards a door they unlocked with a key. It led straight into a corridor filled with multiple doors all numbered. Bedrooms, she assumed from what she had seen on the show.

She noted Sam locking the door behind her.

These corridors branched out into multiple other ones. It was a maze, really. The show hadn’t lied about that. Each corridor also looked the same, with the exception of the numbers on the doors.

How Nana was ever supposed to actually find her way around this place, she wasn’t too sure. Though eventually, by simply walking straight on the entire time, they reached the familiar sight of the metal staircase leading to a way out, and a large archway leading into the room filled with bookcases, displays with swords and daggers, and the two large tables the Winchesters sat around to do research. This was where the Winchesters stopped, glancing at her.

She awkwardly glanced between the two of them.

“You should stay.” Dean’s words cut through the silence. “At least, until you find your own place in this world.”

“And what if my place is here?”

“You’re not hunting,” said Sam immediately.

“Jeez. You think I was going to suggest that shit?” Nana couldn’t miss the pure relief on Sam’s face. And she offered him a smile.

“Most people do,” he said simply, offering her one of the first smiles back since they had arrived there.

“No,” she sighed, glancing around. Though she found herself at a lack of words then. “Maybe I can learn some… I don’t know, latin. I’ve always wanted to learn.” But there were some unanswered questions lingering. ‘What then…?’ What after she had? She could get a job and make a life there, she assumed, but even then…

She would just go back to her normal way of life again. Doing nothing, having no goal, and suffer.

But at least she wouldn’t be alone. And that had been the main goal coming here, hadn’t it?

“That is… if I’m allowed to stay here?”

“You kiddin’?” Nana smiled at Dean’s immediate reply. “You let us stay at your place. This is the least we can do.”

“It’s not the same, but… thank you.” She smiled, and Dean smiled back.

Sam cleared his throat and glanced between the two of them with a thin lined smile. “You’re gonna need a room.”

“Yeah, this time, I won’t have to steal your bed,” joked Dean.

“Oh, don’t worry. You’re Dean, you can steal my bed any day.”

“Oh,” chuckled Dean, Sam glancing between the two of them. “If I’d known that, I would’ve offered to share.”

“Pity you didn’t.” She had _no_ idea where that came from. Though this time, she didn’t blush. Instead she just stared at him, almost daring him to come with a counter-flirtation.

But he didn’t. He just left it open, smirking at her.

“You uh… done?” asked Sam awkwardly.

That comment did make Nana blush though.

.

.

.

“Oh it looks just like in the show!” squealed Nana before stopping herself as she glanced back at the Winchester brothers. “Sorry.”

“I feel like we’re gonna hear that a lot,” chuckled Dean.

It did, though, look just like Sam and Dean’s rooms in the show. A simple bed made with beige sheets, simple coloured walls, a wooden nightstand, and a closet: only the essentials. She placed her backpack on the bed and observed the place. She could make this into something of her own… she was sure of that. All she’d need was some nicer coloured sheets and maybe a poster or two.

Though it would have to be a poster of something else than Supernatural. “Does _Lucifer_ exist in this world?”

“What?” asked Sam, the tension in his body evident.

“Oh, the show. Sorry,” chuckled Nana.

“No… I don’t think so,” stuttered Sam, looking a little disturbed. “Are there a lot of shows about… devils in your world?”

“A lot, yes. I’ll have to do some research. Oh! That means there will be new shows or different episodes of things! How exciting!”

“If you’re doing a marathon of something, you invite us,” stated Dean. “House rule.”

Nana smiled. “We use Sam’s TV.”

“How do you know- I won’t even ask,” chuckled Sam, almost sighing as he did.

“Get settled in.” Dean shifted over to Nana just to place a hand on her shoulder briefly. “If you ever need anything, my room is next door.”

Nana missed when Sam glanced back into the hallway in realization. Out of all the rooms, his brother had chosen to give Nana the one next to him. Not even Sam had been allowed the room next to Dean.

Smiling, Nana waved the brothers off, the door closing behind them. Shifting over to her backpack, she opened it to start unpacking. All her DVDs were placed on her nightstand, trying to give herself some form of comfort should she wake up in the middle of night, afraid. The few items of clothing she had managed to bring with her were stuffed away quickly into the closet. Searching around for anything else she had brought with her, Nana became tense, her searching more erratic.

“No... no, no, no.” Simply tossing her phone onto her pillow, she tilted her backpack upside down. As though that would do anything... “Shit.”

Sighing, Nana sat down on the bed and hid her face in her hands. She was absolutely amazed at being here, and she didn’t regret it one bit.

But she had forgotten her medicine.

.

.

.

“Dean, hold up.” Before his older brother had gotten to enter his room, Sam had stopped him. “You think... You think this was a good idea?”

Dean frowned, remaining quiet. A sigh escaped Sam's lips as he recognized that look in his brother's eyes. A certain defensive attitude that Dean would sometimes get without thinking things through when it came to those he cared about.

And although Sam had to admit that this girl was extremely easy to care about, he himself feeling the same thing already, as much as that scared him, he needed Dean to think this through.

When Crowley had commented on how Nana was crying, Sam had glanced out through the window of the car and felt his heart twinge. She had done quite a lot for them, and all they had done, it seemed, was scare her and make her cry.

Apart from when they all watched that soap opera of course. Sam had to admit it had been a while since he had had that much fun, what with the world continuously needing to be saved... often because they screwed it up themselves.

But when he saw her crying, Sam hadn’t thought of going to get her. As a matter of fact, he just smiled sadly. Because he knew that the reality of the matter was that she would be safe there, and not with them. No matter how much she wanted to follow them.

But Dean had immediately thought differently about the situation. Though, Sam had a feeling that it was more of a reaction without thinking it through completely. Because Dean had exited that car so quickly to get her, Sam hadn’t even been able to even call his name before Dean had run over to the girl.

“Look, I’m not saying that this was a bad idea, okay?” said Sam, keeping his voice down both to keep Dean calm and so that Nana wouldn’t hear. “I’m just asking you if adding another thing to our lives that we care about is a good idea.”

“Another thing? What _things_ do we have that we care about, Sam?” hissed Dean. Sam already knew that when Dean's anger kicked in, mainly to hide feelings, Sam had lost the argument already, but he would always try, no matter what.

“Cass?” said Sam indignantly. “Each other?”

“Two things.” Dean huffed out some air and ran a hand over his face. “A third can’t hurt.”

And with that, Dean shut the door in Sam's face. Sam did nothing but just nod his head and sigh. He agreed with Dean... he really did... he just didn’t want this to hurt them.

He especially didn’t want this to hurt Dean.

.

.

.

Nana paused in the doorway, staring ahead at Dean and Sam both double checking their green duffel bags. It looked a lot as though they were leaving, and Nana had to admit that although it was… their job, it was a little saddening. She had only been there for an hour, and she was already going to be left alone?

It was Sam who first noticed her silent presence, having looked up after finishing double checking things. “Hey.”

His word made Dean look up as well, noting Nana. When he saw her, he almost seemed to sink into himself a little bit. Not out of shame though. She couldn’t quite describe it as anything else but seeming to not want to deal with this – a little bit worried, maybe? “Got a call,” he said. “Gotta help some hunters with a werewolf pack.”

“Those are dangerous,” she chimed in before clearing her throat.

“You’re not coming with,” said Sam quickly.

“No, I know,” she chuckled, rolling her eyes. “I’m not stupid, like I said. But please be careful… You’ll have back-up?”

“Yeah,” said Sam.

There was another silence. They weren’t… exactly friends, after all. But that didn’t mean that Nana wasn’t worried. It did mean, however, that the three of them didn’t know what to say in a goodbye yet.

“Okay, well, call if you need anything. Fridge is packed with food. Money looked the same in your world, so you’re good?” Nana nodded at Dean’s question. “Keys to cars are in the garage. Lock the door behind you.” Sam turned a surprised gaze towards Dean at his ramblings. “Don’t touch the whiskey, apart from the ones Sam likes. They’re to the left. You hear anything go bump in the night, it’s the generators making noises, not ghosts. Don’t freak out on the salt-“

“Okay, Dean,” interrupted Sam, clearing his throat.

Nana was taking mental notes on everything Dean said, nodding her head. This was a new place for her to live in after all, and she didn’t mind getting some tips and tricks for how to live here. And she didn’t really pay attention to the fact that this was a little out of character for Dean.

Sam did, however.

“We should go.”

“Right,” agreed Dean.

“Oh, wait,” exclaimed Nana. “My phone doesn’t work here. I’m not exactly paying for anything here, after all.”

Sam approached her and took her phone as she held it out to the two, a helpless look in her eyes. He frowned and glanced at her; “You’ve got service…”

“What?” she breathed.

“We really should go. But if it stops working, I’ve got some spare sim cards in my room. Uh, it’s down the hall and to the left. I’m putting our numbers in. We’ll keep you updated.”

When Sam handed Nana the phone back, she saw he had sent messages to numbers she didn’t know, each message being one of their names. She smiled, and nodded her head as a silent thank you to him.

“I really don’t deserve you guys taking care of me like this,” she chuckled awkwardly.

“You took care of us too,” said Sam with a smile, before patting her shoulder and moving past her.

Dean did the same, though… well, she wasn’t too sure, but she liked to think that his hand lingered a little bit.

.

.

.

She was bored. Extremely bored. And it had only been an hour.

As she had mentioned, she had tried her hands on learning some latin. But it was only so long someone could sit and learn something extremely difficult whilst consistently spamming Sam with questions. She barely knew the man… not personally, at least. It was just downright rude of her.

Besides, although he was still travelling at the moment, she was aware that at some point he would have to focus on the hunt rather than her insistent questions.

Instead, she had wandered around a bit, beginning to memorize where the different places existed in the bunker such as the showers, the brother’s rooms – although Dean’s was easy to remember so long as she remembered where her own room was – the generator room (which she hadn’t intended to memorize but for some reason she kept walking there instead of to the showers), the kitchen, etc.

All of that had happened within an hour. And now she was bored of walking around aimlessly too.

With a sigh, she sat down on her bed, fumbling with her fingers. She was aware of why she struggled so to keep still and concentrate on something. After all, she hadn’t brought her medicine… But she didn’t feel anything but a little on edge. Hopefully, she could get through things alright without the boys noticing she struggled.

Sat on her bed, her DVDs caught her eyes. How absurd would it be to watch Supernatural whilst actually in the world of Supernatural?

Very.

But that didn’t mean she wouldn’t do it anyway. Besides, it wasn’t like she could join in on the hunts… Until she had a proper aim for her life, something like a job, she would have to distract herself in other ways. So why not Supernatural?

Laughing silently at how weird it was to carry her DVDs over to Sam’s room, slip inside and put a DVD with his face on it into _his_ DVD-player, Nana sat down on the floor and smiled happily up at the screen as the DVD loaded. She held her phone in her hands, fumbling with it. She still thought her phone was acting odd... why would she have signal?

It buzzed as though on cue with her thoughts, showing a message from Dean. Before she could open the message, however, a voice from the TV caught her attention.

_“Dude, watch the road.”_

Her eyes shot up at the words, her giddy smile that had adorned her lips at getting to see Supernatural again, faded away immediately. Her phone wasn’t the only thing that was acting weird…

_“Don’t touch the wheel.”_

_“Just watch the road…”_

She was staring up at the screen, her lips slightly parted. She saw Dean sitting in the Impala, as though he was being filmed, like normal. Though she didn’t recognize this scene… And she would know, she had watched Supernatural enough to recognize any scene and say exactly which season and what episode it was from. But this wasn’t from any episode.

Dean was putting his phone back away, sending an annoyed look at Sam who was retrieving his hands from the wheel, shaking his head at his brother. The sun was shining in through the Impala, almost seeming to be making things a little hazy from the angle it was shining in on.

Or was that just… her?

She narrowed her eyes, staring in shock at what Dean said next: _“Told her we’re an hour away.”_

Sam smiled on the screen, which Dean missed. _“I thought we said we were going to text her when we arrived.”_

Nana slowly glanced down at her phone, her finger shaking slightly as she unlocked the screen and opened his message: “We’re an hour away. You good?”

Letting out a little squeal, she threw her phone away from herself and tried to press pause on the remote control. It didn’t work though, and the DVD kept playing.

 _“So? You’ve been texting her this entire time.”_ Dean sounded grumpy, brow furrowed as he looked away in annoyance.

_“Yes, she’s been trying her hands on learning latin. It’s not easy.”_

_“Whatever…”_ muttered Dean.

Having enough, Nana simply ripped the cable out of its socket. Even that did nothing, the DVD continuing to play.

“What the fuck…” she whispered, a couple of tears appearing in her eyes, though she fought them, taking deep breaths.

This was stupid. She didn’t need to freak out. Most likely, she wasn’t as competent about Supernatural episodes and scenes as she thought. Most likely, the DVD player was bugging out.

Just as she thought, when she pulled out the cable for the TV, everything went quiet. “See, Nana? Everything is fine…”

She hoped.

Then why wasn’t she moving to fix things? To take the DVD out and go do something else; forget this had ever happened?

Instead, she looked over at her phone, still displaying Dean’s message. Biting her lip, Nana wasn’t too sure what possessed her to even try this out. She knew it would freak her out again… but this was just odd. She needed to know what this was.

Plugging the TV back in, the scene continued once more, even though she had missed a chunk from when the TV was turned off. She grabbed her phone quickly and messaged, with shaking thumbs, a random question to Dean. One that no writers would put into a scene. Nothing funny. Nothing that was important to the plot.

Just a quick 1234 and a heart.

Pressing send, she held her phone to her chest as she stared up at the screen, eyes wide in anticipation. The more seconds the brothers simply spent discussing the case they were driving to, the calmer Nana got.

It was nothing. It was just her breaking Sam’s DVD player. Maybe her world’s DVDs weren’t compatible?

Yeah, that made sense…

It did.

Until Dean stopped mid-sentence to take his phone out.

Nana’s lips parted.

She wasn’t in the show. They couldn’t have talked about her. This couldn’t be a message from her. This couldn’t…

_“The hell does that mean?”_

Sam glanced at Dean, noticing he was staring down at his phone again: _“Dude, watch the road!”_

_“She sent me numbers and a heart emoji.”_

Sam looked disturbed.

Nana, on the other end, had let out a scream and a gasp, standing up to run out of the room.

This couldn’t be...


	12. Chapter 12

She was unaware of how long it had been since she had run out of that room. Eventually, her tears had stopped as well as her shakiness. Only then did she attempt to move back to Sam’s room. The attempt had taken a long time on its own, Nana needing to pause every now and then to take deep breaths. She was a normal girl, who didn’t finish school, who believed in the supernatural, but didn’t believe in _herself_ being supernatural. She was a normal, traumatized, girl.

So why was this happening to her?

As a matter of fact, she was still half expecting this to be a hallucination brought on by the lack of medications in her system. A lot had happened to her lately, after all, and for all she knew, she was just struggling mentally.

For some reason, the fact that she herself was broken made it easier to move back to Sam’s room than the idea that something supernatural was happening. So she clung to that explanation when she opened the door, finding that this was the only way for her to have the courage to face this again.

The TV was still going, voices being heard and the flashes of scenes cutting to another one lighting the room up. Her hand slowly inched inside of the room to turn the light on – why she had had the mind to turn the lights off in her panic to get out of the room earlier was beyond her. But Nana often did a lot of odd things. This wasn’t the strangest of them.

The thought made her smile a bit, and she found herself gaining more courage as she made light of the situation. This was simply a strange hallucination. She had misunderstood something. That was what this was. Nothing else.

Stepping into the room, her eyes immediately locked onto the screen. There, Sam and Dean were in their car. A wide shot of the Impala showed as it came to a stop, lights out, by a large farmhouse that looked anything but used. It was dark outside… Had Nana already spent so much time worrying that night had fallen?

No. No, she hadn’t. Because this wasn’t real. It couldn’t be, after all.

She shifted closer. Her phone was still on the floor there, the remote lying untouched by the TV screen. Although the lights were on, it felt as though the room was darker than it should be. Maybe it was the dark furnishing that the Men of Letters had chosen for this place accompanied by the lack of decorations Sam had put up that made her feel such darkness… but she was very much aware that this hadn’t been the case earlier. That was odd.

Scoffing at the situation, she grabbed the remote and let her thumb hover down towards the rubber button with two lines drawn on it. And she pressed it.

There was an immediate reaction. The room, which had seemed dark before, suddenly became slightly hazy. All she could fully focus on was the TV screen, which had Dean shown on it, frozen mid-sentence. A part of her felt as though she wasn’t breathing anymore either – as if something still entered her lungs, but without her chest moving to let anything in. Even her heart seemed to have stopped, though that was absurd, wasn’t it?

Absurd or not, Nana felt stressed and wanted this to go away. Her heart beat faster, but she couldn’t feel it happening…

And so her thumb shifted over to the larger button with a sideways triangle on it, and she pressed it multiple times in an almost frantic way. The room stopped being out of focus the second Dean continued talking on the screen, and she almost tripped over, as if something had just let go of her.

What was that?

Slowly, she let her body lower down to her knees, sitting crouched in front of the TV, her eyes staring down at the remote cradled in her hands.

This was insane.

 _“Will you relax?”_ Upon hearing Sam’s words, Nana looked up at the screen. _“She’s fine. We have to focus on this pack.”_

She continued silently watching at a shot of Dean staring at his phone. He remained quiet at Sam’s words before simply putting his phone in his jacket pocket. With a slightly sour look, Dean exited the car and Sam followed. Nana glanced down at her phone and noticed she had a missed call and several text messages. Were they from Dean? She felt a little guilty suddenly, but she was too shocked from what was happening to do anything but stare at the screen of her phone. The notifications were shown as little bubbles underneath of the clock showing the time consistently.

The TV was right. According to her phone’s clock, night had fallen as it was a couple of minutes past ten.

Remaining there, she continued to stare at the screen as the Winchester brothers quietly approached the farmhouse. Her mind was not fully present on what was happening on the screen though, even though she perhaps should be if this was… really happening to them. But instead of focusing, her mind was rearing with possibilities of what this could be. They all were stupid reasons, and she knew she wouldn’t voice any of those to the Winchesters… if she dared even mention this. What if she actually was just hallucinating? She didn’t want to burden them with that.

And then a shot rang out. The Winchesters had been shooting at werewolves whilst her mind was occupied, but for some reason this one shot caught her attention. It had been a wild shot in an attempt to try and save his life, evidently, as Dean was quickly taken down by a werewolf. She watched with wide eyes as Sam tried his best to get to his brother, but to no avail as he had to keep his attention on other werewolves attacking him.

The echo of Sam’s call for his brother penetrated Nana’s heart, a sob being pushed out. This wasn’t real. It really couldn’t be real…

If it was, Dean had just been mauled by a werewolf and he wasn’t getting back up.

Frantically, Nana grabbed her phone, watching through teary eyes as Sam managed to pull his brother out of the building, the majority of the werewolves letting them be as they licked their wounds. The Winchesters had been overrun… They had needed more people.

What happened to the hunter who they had gone to help?

Nana dialled Sam’s number, and lo and behold, Sam on the screen reacted. But he didn’t pick up, too occupied with, as gently as he could, dragging his big brother over the field towards the Impala. Tears had begun falling down Sam’s cheeks too, and Nana continued calling Sam, over and over again.

He eventually picked up when he was in the car, Dean lying on the backseat, motionless and bleeding. She saw him pick up the phone and press it to his ear as he backed the Impala up as quickly as he could, turning out onto the road to drive off, most likely to a hospital.

For some reason, hearing Sam’s breathy “hello” and seeing Sam doing the exact same thing on the screen, was suddenly enough evidence for Nana. Perhaps she would have freaked out normally, but her heart was hurting for Dean and her focus was on him.

“Sam?” she cried.

_“Not now, Nana, I’m sorry---”_

Nana pressed the pause button again, and the image on the screen froze. She felt herself fall into that strange feeling again of being trapped, as though she wasn’t breathing anymore. But she was still crying: “Sam?”

There was no answer this time. Instead she simply heard some strange, static crackling, and she slowly lowered the phone from her ear. Taking deep breaths through her sobs, she glanced down at the remote she was clutching as though her life --- no, Dean’s life --- was depending on it.

And slowly her thumb shifted over towards the rewind button. Pressing it, she gasped. It felt as though someone had just thrown her off a cliff and she was freefalling, unable to take in a breath.

Nevertheless, she forced herself to keep her focus on the screen, seeing Sam driving back to the farm, dragging Dean back into the building; seeing Dean being attacked, seeing the Winchesters sneak towards the farm; seeing them exit the Impala; seeing them sitting in the car --- which was where Nana pressed play again.

She scrambled for her phone, her eyes staring at Dean looking down at his phone in an almost worried manner over the lack of messages from Nana. However, this time, Nana’s name popped up on his phone as he was looking down on it. In the middle of Sam coaxing Dean to simply focus on the hunt, Dean pressed the phone against his ear: _“Nana?”_

Sitting in front of the TV, staring straight back at Dean who, where he was, was simply staring out at nothing, Nana sobbed out Dean’s name. “Don’t go inside… please… Just don’t go inside…”

 _“Nana?”_ asked Dean, glancing over at Sam. The look on his brother’s face made Sam tense up, straightening up in his seat. _“What’s wrong, Nana?”_

For some reason, the sound of her actual name and not her nickname simply made Nana sob even more, unable to let out any more words to explain.

Dean hung up on her, started the Impala’s engines and quickly reversed the car out of the driveway. Sam watched quietly, but made no move to stop Dean as he, with a determined look on his face, drove away from the hunt to get back to Nana.

Someone else could handle the werewolves just as well as Dean and Sam. His priority at the moment was the girl he had brought with him into this dangerous life…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry to everyone who waited patiently for this new chapter. My life took a hectic and rather terrible turn and I have been trying to cope with it. BUT! Here it is! A new chapter :3 I hope you guys like it


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So... it's been a while again. At this point I don't think I should promise more frequent updates, now should I? XD I do apologize though. There were some rough times... and I have a feeling they haven't stopped yet. What I'm about to say is going to sound weird, but... I got depressed enough to write today. Yes, that's how my creativity works sometimes aha! 
> 
> Before we move on! I have to just promise you one thing that I know I can promise: 
> 
> This story is not abandoned. And it won't be either. I have the plot in my head. I know what will happen, and I know how I want things to end. I'm just... very slow XD 
> 
> Okay, okay... Let's head on to the chapterrr

They barely knew each other. There hadn’t been any hugs. There hadn’t been any soothing words. Dean and Sam had run up the bunker to find her, and had grabbed her arms before she could fall to her knees. Maybe she was dramatic, and maybe she was just overwhelmed.

Only half a day ago, Nana had thought anything supernatural couldn’t be real. Yes… maybe she was overwhelmed.

They had sat her down in the library. Her tears had stopped and she was just sitting there in her chair, staring straight out ahead of herself. Somewhere deep down inside of her there was a tune lulling her to sleep; a memory of a time she had been soothed by someone close to her being the only thing as of late that was there for her. So despite Sam and Dean both sitting there, watching her with worried eyes, Nana had still swayed to that tune, that lullaby which was nothing more but a song from a film she and her mother had once watched.

No one would ever take the time, after all, to sing to her.

“Ozzy…?” Dean’s voice cut through the silence in the library. It hadn’t been an uncomfortable one for Nana, but from the way the two men were shifting slightly in their seats, it had bene a little uncomfortable to them. Her eyes glanced up at Dean, and he took it as a sign she was a little more present than she had been earlier, daring to continue; “What happened..?”

Her gaze shifted away again quickly. Either she told them the truth, or she kept it a secret. It sounded insane even just repeating it in her mind. ‘So, I watched you die, Dean, and then I reversed time to ensure that you didn’t. Anyway, want a beer?’ She knew the brothers hadn’t ever been in close contact with a lot of time travel, except for when spells were in use. But there were no spells in use. This was all just… a DVD? The DVD player? The TV? … her?

“I think…” Nana swallowed harshly. “I didn’t bring my medication.” Her shoulders slumped as she avoided the truth using… well, another truth. “I just got… overwhelmed.”

A hand brushed through her hair. It took her a while to realize it was her own hand – a nervous tick she had acquired over the years whenever there was something she was avoiding, or lying about.

There was something within Dean that relaxed hearing her words, which… confused Nana. “Then we’ll get you something.”

“What?” asked Nana quietly.

“What is it you need?”

Sam sighed, “Dean, we can’t just steal medication like that. We don’t…” Something within Sam’s reasoning caused him to quiet down, gaze flickering to Nana. It wasn’t difficult for her to figure out what it had been that had stopped the Winchester brother.

“It’s… I don’t have any diagnosis.” These were her favourite characters – people. If she couldn’t tell them and trust them? Then who could she trust… “They’re calling it some form of anxiety and depression because of childhood trauma.”

Dean let out a huff, “At least it’s something we all can relate to in this room.”

Nana smiled.

Sam scoffed and gave his brother a glare and a warning ‘Dean’. With a sigh of almost annoyance at the seemingly lack of empathy his older brother was expressing, Sam shifted in his chair to face Nana, almost as if to block out Dean. “You… realize it’s dangerous to just hand stuff out.”

Nana nodded her head, guilt twisting in her stomach. This wasn’t even her actual issue. As far as she knew, if she went without her medication, she would have some serious pains in her body from suddenly just stopping, and then go back to the terrible level it had been on before she had sought help… which all was something she could handle. And now she was placing this burden on them… for no real reason, even… “It’s alright though, I’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure?” asked Sam, his empathetic eyes seeming to bore down into Nana’s eyes to find the truth even if she tried to hide it.

So she didn’t. “No.” Shrugging sheepishly, and sniffling as she wiped away some leftover tears from her cheek, she continued, “But I don’t have much of a choice. I’m sorry I panicked, but… I’ll be fine.” With a groan, Nana shook her head, “I’m a mess. You guys get thrown into a different dimension, get stuck with me in your own dimension, get called out almost immediately to a hunt, and this is what I do?” she moped. “I wanted to have pancakes ready for you when you came home… It’s the least I can do…”

Dean and Sam were quiet for a little bit, before suddenly they simply chuckled. The truth was that neither of them had actually experienced having anyone waiting for them to return before. Much less someone who had wanted to give them something to come back to.

“Well, Ozzy, if it makes you feel any better,” smirked Dean, “coming back to the sight of a pretty woman is enough of a treat.”

Nana blushed. And then she scowled. “Sure. Next time I’ll make sure to wear sexy lingerie as well, hm?”

Dean’s eyebrows rose high up as the image apparently pleased him, and Nana frowned and used her foot to gently kick him.

“You can make pancakes for tomorrow morning,” said Sam awkwardly, trying to cut through the tension.

“Make a lot of them,” added Dean with a goofy smile.

Nana smiled, momentarily having forgotten about the incident from before. “I’ll make a lot of them,” she promised. Though the momentary relief of forgetting didn’t last very long, and her smile faded slightly. “Before we go to bed… could we watch something? Like a DVD or something?” 

“Sure thing,” smiled Sam.

.

.

.

Rowena’s safehouse was currently a remote cabin lost in the whirl of trees. This part of the forest hadn’t been touched for a long time, though she remembered when it was a place of assembly. Witches from all over the Commonwealth would come and gather each Samhain, dancing until the sun rose to the beat of the evil presences they would stir.

Those were different times. Now, a witch was supposed to be formal, stoic and often just someone who got paid to tell fortunes. It wasn’t particularly her forte. Rowena had never been good at bowing to the power or men. And to Rowena, time was created by a man. Meaning she didn’t have to follow the flow of time. That was a perfectly sound logic to her, if you asked her.

She was staying there to keep out of Crowley’s radar. She couldn’t care less about the demon, of course, but she did care that he seemed to always get in her way when she grasped for power. You see, if she got power, she wouldn’t have to bow down to time. Time would bow down to her. And she could be open about what she was; a witch, and a strong woman. Crowley getting in the way was not something she would allow…

If she could.

In her beauty sleep, Rowen had been stirred by the feeling of something… cracking. It wasn’t any of her windows, but it was… something else… Something not visible to the eye of a human, not even a witch. The crack was loud, and it had sent her (as well as other beings around the world) stumbling. Whatever it had been… it had been powerful magic.

She had researched on it ever since, but found nothing in her archives. Annoyed, Rowena had decided to let it wait until she got some more clues, when suddenly she found herself repeating her last half an hour of research before she had given up. Doing a doubletake, Rowena tried her best to focus on what exactly had just happened… but it was so faint she barely could even dare to believe it. Others might have just taken it as déjà vu and let it slide. But Rowena wasn’t like others. She wouldn’t let herself be like others.

This wasn’t déjà vu. This was someone meddling with time…

And Rowena wanted that power…

.

.

.

Nothing had happened to the DVD when Sam had taken it out. She had explained she had been watching some Supernatural to get her mind off of the Supernatural world she had found herself in – which had tickled Dean a lot and caused him to tease her excruciatingly much – before suddenly getting an… overwhelmed feeling and calling Dean because of it. Sam had accepted that, taken the DVD out and placed in a film for them to watch together, both Winchester boys drinking beer as they did.

And nothing had happened.

The film was normal; an old western Dean had insisted on that they watch. Her eyes had frantically searched for any sign that something was off once again, to feel those strange things she had felt when she had watched Sam and Dean in real life on the screen… but it hadn’t been present.

What had been present was Dean consistently commenting on the film, pointing things out and laughing obnoxiously loud… and Dean, each time, turning his gaze to Nana to see her reactions as well. They mainly were amused looks sent his way, Nana enjoying his enjoyment more than the actual film (which she refrained from telling him). He was rather adorable when it came to what he liked… and Nana had to admit that although the flirting was nice as well --- not that she… believed he actually liked her… he was Dean Winchester and he flirted with anything that had two legs, right? --- it was a hundred times more heart-warming to see Dean interacting with something he liked. That depressed look disappeared from his eye, and the inner boy that he still was would be drawn out instead. And she once more found herself wanting to see that more… and wanting to be the reason for why that look would appear in his eyes.

So in the end, even though she had originally just used this as an excuse to see whether or not the DVD player would do this even with the Winchester boys in the room, Nana had enjoyed herself tremendously. Especially once Sam got annoyed with Dean and began shushing him, which had resulted in a popcorn war between the two brothers.

Feeling more light-hearted, Nana had left Sam’s room with a smile on her face. Dean was behind her, walking with her to their rooms adjacent to each other.

“You’re smiling again.” The words caught Nana off guard, and they seemed to catch Dean off guard too. He blinked as she had turned to watch him in confusion, and awkwardly scratched the back of his neck. “I guess you liked the film.”

Unsure of whether this was what he had originally referred to or not, Nana simply nodded her head. She stopped by her bedroom door and continued to watch Dean curiously. “You did too. And I’m happy. It makes you look less sad.”

Dean looked mildly offended by that, though there also was something else that had twinkled in his eyes at hearing that. “Right,” he scoffed as he turned the doorknob of his bedroom door. Though he paused. “You too.” With that he slipped inside, calling out a ‘goodnight’ before the door was shut.

And Nana was left smiling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Alright, there we are! I hope that was alright despite my mental state right now. 
> 
> A quick thank you to you readers, and to those who review. It really means a lot to me. Please, don't hesitate to keep doing that <3 
> 
> Stay safe everyone  
> /AsgardianHobbit98


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Oh lord I am so sorry for how long this took! o.o Please don't hate me   
> And please, enjoy! :D 

The smile that had been on her lips almost the entire night since she and Dean had spoken before bed, disappeared the second she entered the kitchen that morning. One of the Men of Letter, grey bathrobes was wrapped tightly around her body as she stood, snuggled up to keep warm, in the doorway, staring ahead at the less than snuggly view of Sam and Dean, fully dressed and ready to go.

Now, normally Nana would not have felt strange about seeing them (or rather, Dean) fully dressed in the morning – maybe she had just woken up later than them? - But the fact that there was a green duffel bag by Dean’s feet notified her that the reason they were dressed was not because of the time. 

“But…” The word had come out in a stutter, and had alerted Sam and Dean about her presence. Two mugs of coffee were in front of them on the table they were sitting at, Sam having been busy checking something on a tablet. “I was going to make pancakes…” 

She wasn’t proud of the moping noise she had made, but luckily Dean had done nothing more but chuckle, “Hunting's a busy life.” 

“We sniffed out something,” Sam piped in. He gently shifted the tablet in front of him her way, despite how far away she was stood. It was a quiet invitation for her to read it too. Perhaps not as much for the sake of a second opinion, but more to keep her in the loop considering she was living with them.

She wasn't a hunter, after all. 

She took the invitation, and shuffled over, still pouting. Sitting at the end of the table, she grabbed the tablet and read the case: multiple dead bodies having been found in a local forest of a tiny village. “Yes,” she said sarcastically at the police’s attempt to try and explain this, “mass suicides where the bodies are found half eaten by 'wild animals'. I see, makes perfect sense.” 

Sam chuckled awkwardly, “Right. We figured we should check it out.” 

“Okay. So then, pancakes when you get back?” 

“Definitely,” ushered Dean, pointing at her: “I’m going to be holding you to that.” 

“Can you guys please be careful…? And not run into a barn with like fifty werewolves waiting for you?” 

There was an immediate change in the mood of the room – what had been a rather light-hearted conversation despite Nana not wanting either of them to leave, suddenly turned ice cold. Both the Winchesters looked at her in sync, staring at her with a disturbingly alarmed looks in their eyes. 

They truly did not miss any details, did they? 

“What…?” she asked nervously. 

“What barn?” asked Sam. Dean even shifted slightly in his chair, freeing his legs from under the table as if to be more prepared. Prepared for... a fight. The moment made it evident that they were still only strangers to each other. Or, at least, Nana was a stranger to them. 

“Guys,” she said quickly, shaking her head and raising her hands. She had completely forgotten that she had not told them any of the truth for why she had freaked out: Dean dying in that barn. Whatever had happened in Sam’s room had stayed in Sam’s room once the Winchesters had returned. “I was just… saying random things.” Dean dying hadn’t happened, and for all she knew, none of the things she had seen on that screen had actually happened anyway. “I saw it happen all the time on the show. It’s usually a barn.” 

But what she had forgotten, was the fact that neither of them had mentioned neither how many werewolves there had been (because they had never seen them, of course)... nor had they ever mentioned anything about a barn. 

“Yeah but… fifty werewolves?” asked Sam. 

“I was just being hyperbolic,” she awkwardly stuttered out. 

“What?” asked Dean. 

“It means she was exaggerating,” translated Sam unnecessarily. 

Dean scoffed, glancing at Sam with a frown, “No, I know what it means!” Pinching the bridge of his nose, Dean sighed, “I simply meant why you would use that particular uh… hyperbolicism.” 

“That’s not how you use it—” 

Dean stopped Sam by raising a hand. The mood had warmed a little bit, the biting icy cold that had entered the room earlier when those large men, capable of killing her easily, had turned their distrust to her was gone. Perhaps they were easy with wanting to help, but it was clear that trust was something they did not just give out – not after everything that they had gone through. 

And quite honestly, Nana felt extremely bad about that now. In a way, she was breaking their trust by not confiding in them. And it was wrong of her… it truly was. 

But what was she supposed to do? It sounded insane no matter how she worded it! 

“It doesn’t matter,” said Nana with a shake of her head, a bad attempt at trying to just wave it off as if she truly hadn’t meant nothing more but an exaggeration. “Just be careful out there, okay?” 

Both Winchesters turned to look at her. She could still tell that they didn’t fully believe her, but the mood wasn’t as bad anymore. Whilst they might not let this go completely, they were letting it go now. 

“What are you gonna do whilst we’re away... again?” asked Dean, sitting back into a more comfortable position at the table. 

Nana didn’t have to think about her answer for too long. “Watch TV.” 

. 

. 

. 

“This is fucking weird...” Nana murmured to herself as she once more entered Sam’s room, DVDs in hand. With a sigh, she approached the device, crouching down onto her knees to slide the DVD into its place. Just like the first time, the DVD immediately went to a scene of Sam and Dean in their car. They were dressed in the clothes she had seen them leave in, the sun shining outside. Dean was driving, as usual, and Sam was twisted around in his seat to reach back into the backseat. He seemed to be stretching into a cooler placed there, taking out a drink. 

Taking in a deep breath, Nana composed herself. There was panic already bubbling up inside of her. But she had to do this. If not for her own sanity, but for their sake and safety. If she kept an eye on them... then what almost happened to Dean last time would not happen again. 

Right? 

But she wanted to make sure one last time. And so she took out her phone. She had prepared a message already, having thought this over for the past two hours since they had left. Nana saw herself as nothing good in particular. She saw herself as... well... nothing. But this right here, this strange, strange thing happening with the DVDs... it could make her a little bit important. So it was worth focusing on it. 

It was also worth helping the Winchesters. 

Her phone screen showed a message of “ya’ll are missing out” along with a kissy face emoji. And a picture of the pancakes she had made for herself, drowning in maple syrup. Looking it over one last time, she deleted the kissy face and sent it to Sam. 

Her eyes immediately darted up to the TV screen, her breath hitching as she waited. She watched patiently as Sam untwisted himself to sit back into his seat, a green smoothie in his hand. His other hand reached down into his pocket, fumbling a bit to try and take it out. She watched Sam stare at his screen for a few seconds, before a chuckle escaped him. 

_“Look.”_

Dean glanced away from the road momentarily to see what his brother was showing him. A smile appeared on his lips. _“Oh damn.. that looks delicious.”_

Sam shook his head in amusement. _“Is she_ _trying to convince us to stay home using pancakes?”_ he asked jokingly. 

_“It’s_ _kinda_ _working,”_ was Dean’s reply, the man smirking to himself. 

Nana watched Sam type something on his phone, skilfully using just the one thumb as he took a sip from his smoothie. 

Her phone buzzed as Sam put his down on the screen. She read the message and let out a surprised snort at it: _Keep this up, and Dean might propose soon._

Her reply was a quick: _What is that supposed to_ _imply_ _???_ And a blush on her own cheeks. 

Sam read the message, but didn’t reply. She watched him chuckle to himself and shake his head, something on his mind concerning said messages apparently being extremely amusing to him. Nana smiled. It was a little weird, and they weren’t even aware of this which made it also creepy... but to Nana, this was not as lonely. 

It was helping herself in more ways than just give her a sense of purpose. 

Before she would sit back and watch and wait, she had one last thing to check. Waiting for the right time, Nana perked up as she saw Dean reach toward the radio, turning it on. His classical rock boomed out loudly from the speakers, and Sam frowned before immediately turning the volume down. In return, his older brother gave Sam an annoyed look, but didn’t do anything to fix the volume. 

Grabbing the remote, Nana pressed the back button to speed the time back a minute, before she pressed play again. Grabbing the remote tightly, she wasn’t too sure of what she was expecting. But that strange, odd feeling had once more surrounded her when she had done this... as if it wasn’t just the DVD that was affected by the control of the remote. And she wanted to make sure... 

She checked the time on her phone and saw it had gone back a minute. And, after waiting patiently, she saw Dean once more turn on the radio. Sam once more frowned and turned it down... And then suddenly, both Winchester brothers paused. They had not done that last time before she had rewinded.

That was new. 

_“I just got a really strange sense of Deja Vu...”_ said Sam, glancing at Dean. 

_“Me too.”_

Nana nodded her head and smiled. “Alright, boys... Let's help you.”


End file.
